By The Book: Penguin Random House SEA Goes Digital With Its Books, To Be Available On Amazon

With the launch of their e-book catalogue with over a dozen titles, Penguin Random House SEA is keeping people reading during this COVID-19 period. In line with its vision to open diverse literary works from Southeast Asia to a wider audience, the publishing house is bringing out ebooks from their frontlist and backlist and this catalogue will grow alongside their flourishing print book catalogue. Readers … Continue reading By The Book: Penguin Random House SEA Goes Digital With Its Books, To Be Available On Amazon

By The Book: Epigram Unveils Judging Panel For Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2021

Organised by Epigram Books, the Epigram Books Fiction Prize is one of Singapore’s most well-known literary prizes since their launch in 2015. Accepting unpublished manuscripts from citizens and permanent residents of Southeast Asian countries, winners and shortlisted finalists not only receive a cash prize; they also receive a publishing contract with Epigram Books for their manuscript. Epigram Books has announced its panel of judges who will … Continue reading By The Book: Epigram Unveils Judging Panel For Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2021

By The Book: An Interview with Kenny Leck, Owner of BooksActually

In a time of crisis, where most people are stuck at home, there’s beauty and comfort in creating a little safe and cosy nook for yourself, and curling up with a good book. With the public libraries closed till further notice, it might just be in your best interests to purchase a new title, give yourself a little me time, and bury yourself between the … Continue reading By The Book: An Interview with Kenny Leck, Owner of BooksActually

★★★★☆ Book Review: This Side of Heaven by Cyril Wong

Form-defying new work encapsulating the fleeting nature of life and the mystery of the afterlife.  Over the course of art and literature, there’ve been countless interpretations of what the afterlife looks like, ranging from picture-perfect versions of heaven, to nightmare-inducing visions of hell. And while there still isn’t a definitive consensus on what it really is, it’s refreshing to know that new writing is still … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Book Review: This Side of Heaven by Cyril Wong

★★★★☆ Book Review: The Minorities by Suffian Hakim

Supernatural tale fuelled by whip-smart humour makes this quirky roadtrip a delight.  As far as motley crews go, the group at the centre of Suffian Hakim’s The Minorities surely ranks among the oddest. Meet Cantona, a Bangladeshi artist on the run from his construction company; ‘Tights’, a Chinese illegal immigrant with a love for films; Shanti, an Indian lab technician hiding from her abusive husband, and an … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Book Review: The Minorities by Suffian Hakim

★★★☆☆ Book Review: My BFF Is An Alien by Vivian Teo

  Vivian Teo’s new series introduces extraterrestrial elements to a typical narrative of unlikely friends.  The teenage years can be one of the most brutal in a person’s life. Academically, secondary school is a huge step up from primary school, while one’s body goes through the ravages of puberty, and the people you thought would be friends forever begin to slowly drift away. It’s no … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Book Review: My BFF Is An Alien by Vivian Teo

Book Review: Beauty Queens of Bishan by Akshita Nanda

A celebration of womanhood and femininity in all their facets, set against the ever-intriguing world of pageants. Love it or loathe it, everyone wants to feel pretty. And in this age of reality TV, celebrity worship and social media obsession, it’s becoming increasingly harder to match up to society’s standards of beauty, what with the bar being continually raised. The business of beauty is booming, … Continue reading Book Review: Beauty Queens of Bishan by Akshita Nanda

Singapore Writers Festival 2019: Bad Feminist Roxane Gay Speaks About Bodies, Pop Culture and the Importance of Media Literacy

Roxane Gay is an icon for our times. Big, black, queer and intellectual, Roxane rounded off the final weekend of the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) with a number of talks and events surrounding her work. Best known for her bestselling essay collection Bad Feminist and memoir Hunger, Roxane’s writing deals primarily with issues of identity, femininity (or society’s expectations of it) and how our views of the world have … Continue reading Singapore Writers Festival 2019: Bad Feminist Roxane Gay Speaks About Bodies, Pop Culture and the Importance of Media Literacy

Singapore Writers Festival 2019 Closes with Literary Stars and Contemporary Topics, Marking New Festival Director Pooja Nansi’s Inaugural Edition

The 22nd edition of the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) concluded on 10 November after a stellar 10-day line-up of literary events and programmes headlined by influential Singapore and international writers, speakers and thinkers. Organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) to champion and grow appreciation for literary arts and culture in Singapore, the theme “A Language of Our Own” explores the ways in which verbal, … Continue reading Singapore Writers Festival 2019 Closes with Literary Stars and Contemporary Topics, Marking New Festival Director Pooja Nansi’s Inaugural Edition

Singapore Writers Festival 2019: An Interview with Min Jin Lee, Author of Pachinko and Free Food For Millionaires

“I like writing because I don’t like talking very much,” says author Min Jin Lee. “I was really one of those quiet Asian kids as a child, and it was something I had to work through when I realised that in America, if you don’t know how to talk well, people will think you’re stupid, and I definitely didn’t want people to think that about … Continue reading Singapore Writers Festival 2019: An Interview with Min Jin Lee, Author of Pachinko and Free Food For Millionaires